Executive Branch
Just Security’s expert authors provide analysis of the U.S. executive branch related to national security, rights, and the rule of law. Analysis and informational resources focus on the executive branch’s powers and their limits, and the actions of the president, administrative agencies, and federal officials.
4,757 Articles
A Reply to Gabor Rona on “Extrajudicial Release” in Afghanistan
In his post “Extrajudicial Release: A New Rule-of-Law Problem?” Gabor Rona rightly criticizes U.S. officials’ use of the term “extrajudicial release.” It is a troubling…
“Associated Forces” has a legal meaning . . . but it’s not “every group that calls itself al Qaeda”
Daphne reports that at a House Armed Services hearing today, Christopher Swift of the UVa Center for National Security Law emphasized that “the United States has to stop…
Can Congress Protect Digital Privacy from NSA Spying?
[Editor’s Note: The House Judiciary Committee hearing can be viewed live on C-SPAN.org] Today, the House Judiciary Committee will conduct a hearing on recommendations to…
10 Things We Need to Know Now About the US Drone War
A year ago today, NBC News published a leaked copy of a Justice Department memo that justified the killing of a U.S. citizen without a trial in a foreign country outside a war…
President Certifies US Forces in Mali Not at Risk of International Criminal Court, but is that Legally Valid?
On Friday, President Obama issued a Memorandum certifying that US Armed Forces participating in the UN military operation in Mali “are without risk of criminal prosecution”…
Reforming 702: Does NSA Minimize Cloud Files?
Yesterday, I wrote generally about the problems with section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act (FAA). Today I want to focus on categories of information—including content—that…
Reforming The Section 702 Dragnet (Part 1)
The consensus is clear that spying on innocent Americans section 215 of the Patriot Act is flatly illegal. The Center for Democracy and Technology said it, Christopher Sprigman…
Extrajudicial Release: A New Rule-of-Law Problem?
Monday’s Wall Street Journal reported on the release, this past Sunday night, of a statement by U.S. Forces-Afghanistan, lamenting the decision of an Afghan-led review board…
Don’t Close Your Eyes to Surveillance Dangers: A Response to Richard Epstein
Richard Epstein’s office at the Hoover Institution is less than a mile from mine at Stanford Law School, and I’ve had the pleasure to hear Richard speak to the faculty on a…
U.S. Operations Against al-Shabaab/al-Qaeda: The Targeting of Godane
As Sarah Knuckey’s post explains, CNN is reporting that the latest US drone strike in Somalia targeted Ahmed Abdi Godane, the leader of Al-Shabaab. Sarah asks whether the strike…
What rules is the US applying to its Somalia drone strikes?
CNN today provided the most detailed account yet of the latest U.S. drone strike, carried out this past weekend in Somalia. US officials (quoted anonymously by CNN) said the…
First “Public” PRB Hearing Raises More Questions Than it Answers
As expected, today’s Periodic Review Board hearing, the first so-called “public” one of these events, was completely uneventful. In the case of Abdel Malik Ahmed Abdel…